A 2021 Scientific Reports paper proposed that a Tunguska-sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea. It drew roughly 700,000 views before Scientific Reports retracted it in 2025, about four years later. The retraction said the Tall el-Hammam–Tunguska comparison was not adequately substantiated. Mark Boslough, one of the original paper's co-authors, later criticized the comparison. The work was republished in Air Burst and Cratering Impacts, where it received roughly another 100,000 views.
Tall el-Hammam airburst paper retracted by Scientific Reports
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Key facts
- The paper was published in Scientific Reports in 2021 and retracted by Scientific Reports in 2025, about four years later. Scientific Reports is part of Nature Portfolio but is not the flagship Nature journal.
- The paper proposed, rather than established, that a Tunguska-sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea.
- The retraction note specifically said the comparison between Tall el-Hammam and the Tunguska event was not adequately substantiated; it did more than give a generic statement about lacking confidence in the data.
- The roughly 700,000 figure refers to article views, not a verified number of unique readers, and the most-read description applies to Scientific Reports rather than the flagship Nature journal.
- Mark Boslough was one of the original paper's co-authors and later criticized the Tunguska comparison.
- The work was republished in Air Burst and Cratering Impacts in 2025, where it received roughly another 100,000 views.
Sources
Modeling how a Powerful Airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a ...scienceopen.com
The modeling shows that the explosive energy released can propel high-velocity airburst fragments to strike the Earth's surface, producing shock ...
RETRACTED ARTICLE: A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el ...nature.com
We present evidence that in ~ 1650 BCE (~ 3600 years ago), a cosmic airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a Middle-Bronze-Age city in the southern Jordan Valley ...
Retraction Note: A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el ...nature.com
The claims that an airburst event destroyed the Middle Bronze Age city of Tall el-Hammam appear to not be sufficiently supported by the data in the Article.
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Criticism of the article, “A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea,” ...
(PDF) A Tunguska Sized Airburst Destroyed Tall el-Hammam a ...researchgate.net
We present evidence that Tall el-Hammam, a fortified Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley, was destroyed by an extraordinary high-energy event in ...
A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam ...researchgate.net
Retraction Note: A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea.
Tell el-Hammamen.wikipedia.org
"Retraction Note: A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea". Scientific Reports.
A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a ...researchmisconduct.medleg.ro
It was retracted in 2025 by Scientific Reports after concerns were raised about errors in methodology, analyses, and interpretation of ...
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